Why is papaya...

[recycler]

The retail market works with very high margins in Thailand, unless you buy very locally from the farm or some fresh market where the farmers sell you will be stuffing the pockets of CP, BigC, Lotus etc.

It's not for nothing that these companies are pumping billions in expansion of their outlets in Thailand!

It's utter weird that many products end up in your cart at similar prices as in western Europe, some people are making incredible amounts of money!

[krisb]

In the UK Papaya sell for £5,so the the answer is because they export and sell a 20 Bhat Papaya for £5 (260 baht) they do,the market of supply and demand dictates!

Australia green papaya sells for $6.50kg at the Asian grocers.

[bobmac10]

Papaya is rich in enzyme papain which is effective against cancer. Papain breaks down the fibrin cancer cell wall and protein into amino acid form. Other than papain it also contain lycopene which highly reactive towards oxygen and free radical. Isothyocynate effective against breast, lung, colon pancreas, prostate as well as leukemia. These enzymes capable of inhibiting both formation and development of cancer cell.

What utter rot.

Papain is a protein and, like all other proteins, is broken down by the digestive system. It would never get near a cancer cell.

There is no conclusive scientific evidence of any health benefits of lycopene - only a general observation that people who eat a lot of tomatoes are less likely to have cancer. There is no conclusive medical evidence that any antioxidant in the diet contributes positively to health. (Betacarotene, to which lycopene is related has actually been shown to increase the risk of lung cancer.)

Isothyocynate (apart from being misspelt) isn't a chemical compound - it's a structure. Isothiocyanates are found in high concentrations in brassicas (horseradish, wasabi, mustard, radish, Brussels sprouts, watercress &c.) They are not found in high concentrations in papaya, and there's no in vivo medical evidence for their effectiveness in inhibiting cancers.

Why on earth do people bother writing such pseudoscientific nonsense?

Obviously the gentleman is a learned type and polite too!

Here is the author of the Abstract : *Sheikh Fauziya and R Krishnamurthy CG Bhakta Institute of Biotechnology, Uka Tarsadia University, Maliba Campus Bardoli, Dist. Surat, Gujarat, India-394350 *Author for Correspondence

I'm sure he would be interested in your views.

The online research paper is here: CIBTech Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences ISSN: 2319–3891 (Online)

An Online International Journal Available at http://www.cibtech.org/cjps.htm

2013 Vol.2 (1) January-March, pp.25-34/Sheikh and Krishnamurthy

It must be a wonderful feeling to be able to tell university researchers that they are wasting their time?

[Gandtee]

i dont buy it often but on those occasions didnt notice it to be expensive. i buy what in season.

som tam is a popular dish perhaps its draining the market in limited suppy season, just a guess..

am more pissed at the price of coconuts they have increased by fifty percent this year over end of last year price and they are now pathetically small or still not properly ripe and generally bad buying..

The reason coconuts are now expensive is that the trees are being destroyed by beetles. One of my coconut trees has been destroyed by them this year. I read that the only answer to this problem is to cut down infected trees. So, less coconuts!

[cronus]

30-35bath per kilo when in season... expensive??

[Tywais]

I've removed all discussion about the Thai language aspects of the topic as being off topic. There is now a topic in the Thai Language forum that you can discuss it - http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/702378-pronouncing-papaya/

"English is the only acceptable language, except within the Thai language forum, where of course using Thai is allowed."

[Dannyboy6]

i dont buy it often but on those occasions didnt notice it to be expensive. i buy what in season.

som tam is a popular dish perhaps its draining the market in limited suppy season, just a guess..

am more pissed at the price of coconuts they have increased by fifty percent this year over end of last year price and they are now pathetically small or still not properly ripe and generally bad buying..

must be the Coconut Oil Kraze...

[evadgib]

A visitor from UK says he paid GBP 8.00 for a small Papaya there. Some years earlier I noted Rambutan's were sold there by the half dozen @ GBP 3.00. At that price I can get a kilo here for the cost of a single fruit in UK.

[SailingHome]

i dont buy it often but on those occasions didnt notice it to be expensive. i buy what in season.

som tam is a popular dish perhaps its draining the market in limited suppy season, just a guess..

am more pissed at the price of coconuts they have increased by fifty percent this year over end of last year price and they are now pathetically small or still not properly ripe and generally bad buying..

must be the Coconut Oil Kraze...

No kidding! In Philippines, coconut oil is cheaper than palm oil is in Thailand. Only coconut oil I see here in LOS is some sort of marketing BS B500/100ml. lol. Remind me to bring a barrel next time.

[Torrens54]

My Wife grows huge amounts of it on trees she planted along the creek that runs past the back of our house. No Problem.

....and NO... I am NOT giving you our address!

[Card]

I grow papaya. Even when I buy one, the price doesn't seem high - but that's because I reside in a rural area where prices for fruits and veges are reasonable. I can get a kilo of excellent red or yellow sweet peppers for 60 baht. In a farang-style supermarket, the same peppers would be I'd probably cost 8 to 10x as much.

A few things you probably didn't know about papayas: the name, in Thai is marikon. The word for fanny-f#cker in Spanish, is maricol.

Also, Papaya is the earliest known organism with distinct male and female chromosomes. Yes, papayas can be male or female (like ganga), but unlike ganga, both have flowers. The way to tell them apart: males have numerous flowers out on stalks. Females have fewer and bigger flowers along the stem.

Thais often eat them when they're green. Not me, the only papaya that passes my lips is dark yellowish-orange, yum.

Since you grow them, here's something you may find interesting. You can change the gender of a male papaya tree by hammering nails into the trunk. half a dozen 6 inch nails should do it. Within a few months, you will see the flower change and the tree will bear fruit within a year. I don't know if it is the trauma or perhaps the FeO2, but something happens.

If trauma, then just banging with a hammer would do just as well. If trauma, then almost certainly due to a stress hormone caused by the damage. COuld be one of two - ethylene gas or abscisic acid. My guess is ethylene. If ethylene then acetylene is a good substitute.

[Tywais]

Flame/troll post removed.

[thailandbeachisland]

I agree, no respect for all these cheaters millionaire farmers !

[namdocmai]

Still no numbers! What is expensive for a papaya?

I only know the price for papaya holland (the rond one which is more sweet) it costs 20 baht a kg and some sellers sell them for 30 baht without weighing them because they easy go over a kg. Papaya Holland has less hollow space inside and is more heavy.

I don't know if the Thai use it for their somtam, i guess that is the old papaya which is not round.

So to see what is expensive i would like to know the price of a papaya on your local (big) market without aircon. As i said in the outskirts of BKK they cost 20 baht a kg. If i compare that 20 baht to mango's then mango's cost much more but also taste better allright.

[mojorison]

I grow papaya. Even when I buy one, the price doesn't seem high - but that's because I reside in a rural area where prices for fruits and veges are reasonable. I can get a kilo of excellent red or yellow sweet peppers for 60 baht. In a farang-style supermarket, the same peppers would be I'd probably cost 8 to 10x as much.

A few things you probably didn't know about papayas: the name, in Thai is marikon. The word for fanny-f#cker in Spanish, is maricol.

Also, Papaya is the earliest known organism with distinct male and female chromosomes. Yes, papayas can be male or female (like ganga), but unlike ganga, both have flowers. The way to tell them apart: males have numerous flowers out on stalks. Females have fewer and bigger flowers along the stem.

Thais often eat them when they're green. Not me, the only papaya that passes my lips is dark yellowish-orange, yum.

This is what I like about Thai visa.

pretty post... But I think papaya is actually "ma la goh" ... I understand the affinity with the weed though.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[Somsrisonphimai]

My mom grows papayas and she gives them away for free as they are easy and cost nothing to grow. If you happen to be in Phimai, come by we will give some to you.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[Loles]

If the papaya is expensive for you this means you want to buy everything per 5 Bath. The papaya isn't expensive at all. Just bought yesterday, 25 B.

Much bigger problem to me that the lichy season is so SHORT.

Edited February 6, 2014 by Loles

[Neeranam]

I agree, they are expensive and hard to find in our area (North) and I asked my wife why that is.

She replied that everyone grows them for themselves (or they just pop up from stray seeds) and therefore the market for them is limited.

If they are at the market, no-one nuys them.

So we are also growing our own now.

The dark-pink new variety is delicious and slightly firmer than the yellow variety.

Incidently, the papaya is now being researched in many countries for their anti-cancer properties.

I just bought some soursop trees which are great for that.

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=sour+sop&newwindow=1&rlz=1C1CHMO_en-gb&espv=210&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=5G3zUrfoD4a6iQeUnIGQAw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=959&bih=674

[tim armstrong]

Papayas are cheap where we are and almost grow as easily as bananas. But its the avocados I want cheaper. The local ones are just too watery and stringy. unfortunately the imported avos are the best, but very pricey.

[weegee]

My mom grows papayas and she gives them away for free as they are easy and cost nothing to grow. If you happen to be in Phimai, come by we will give some to you. ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1391681951.798176.jpg

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

And if that's not near you, they were falling off the trees and going rotten here a month ago.....

I too will give them away to anyone who wants them til they run out...I am sick of eating Papaya (Paw Paw).

[mogoso]

I have a papaya tree in my garden, but yes agree on the excessive price of mango's

Weary of the price of mango's I went to Mae Jo University Agriculture Day back in January. I came away with a dozen mango trees of different varieties. I'm waiting till the rainy season to plant in a corner of property. (as advised) Our papaya trees put forth copius amounts of fruit so we give away most. A use for a young papaya surprised me. I thought our neighbor wanted green papayas for som tom as she'd motor over occasionally to get one. They raise chickens and when they get to the point the chicken isn't laying they kill and eat it. Well older chickens have tough meat but if you boil a green papaya with the chickens meat it softens it up. At least that's her story and I believe her. As for the price of coconuts, I'm planting 10 of them in the morning

[SailingHome]

Still no numbers! What is expensive for a papaya?

I only know the price for papaya holland (the rond one which is more sweet) it costs 20 baht a kg and some sellers sell them for 30 baht without weighing them because they easy go over a kg. Papaya Holland has less hollow space inside and is more heavy.

I don't know if the Thai use it for their somtam, i guess that is the old papaya which is not round.

So to see what is expensive i would like to know the price of a papaya on your local (big) market without aircon. As i said in the outskirts of BKK they cost 20 baht a kg. If i compare that 20 baht to mango's then mango's cost much more but also taste better allright.

39/k anywhere non aircon near On Nut BTS including the talad 1km away up Soi 77.

[SailingHome]

I have a papaya tree in my garden, but yes agree on the excessive price of mango's

Weary of the price of mango's I went to Mae Jo University Agriculture Day back in January. I came away with a dozen mango trees of different varieties. I'm waiting till the rainy season to plant in a corner of property. (as advised) Our papaya trees put forth copius amounts of fruit so we give away most. A use for a young papaya surprised me. I thought our neighbor wanted green papayas for som tom as she'd motor over occasionally to get one. They raise chickens and when they get to the point the chicken isn't laying they kill and eat it. Well older chickens have tough meat but if you boil a green papaya with the chickens meat it softens it up. At least that's her story and I believe her. As for the price of coconuts, I'm planting 10 of them in the morning

Believe her. Steak tenderizer is simply papayacin - dried papaya juice, usually. I soak old chickens or even good beef in it to tenderize. Papayacin is an enzyme that digests the stringiness.

Same same, eat papaya after a heavy meal and it will help digest the food.

Edited February 6, 2014 by SailingHome

[bobmac10]

Papaya is rich in enzyme papain which is effective against cancer. Papain breaks down the fibrin cancer cell wall and protein into amino acid form. Other than papain it also contain lycopene which highly reactive towards oxygen and free radical. Isothyocynate effective against breast, lung, colon pancreas, prostate as well as leukemia. These enzymes capable of inhibiting both formation and development of cancer cell.

What utter rot.

Papain is a protein and, like all other proteins, is broken down by the digestive system. It would never get near a cancer cell.

There is no conclusive scientific evidence of any health benefits of lycopene - only a general observation that people who eat a lot of tomatoes are less likely to have cancer. There is no conclusive medical evidence that any antioxidant in the diet contributes positively to health. (Betacarotene, to which lycopene is related has actually been shown to increase the risk of lung cancer.)

Isothyocynate (apart from being misspelt) isn't a chemical compound - it's a structure. Isothiocyanates are found in high concentrations in brassicas (horseradish, wasabi, mustard, radish, Brussels sprouts, watercress &c.) They are not found in high concentrations in papaya, and there's no in vivo medical evidence for their effectiveness in inhibiting cancers.

Why on earth do people bother writing such pseudoscientific nonsense?

Mechanism of Functions of Papain

The mechanism in which the function of papain is made possible is through the cysteine-25 portion of the

triad in the active site that attacks the carbonyl carbon in the backbone of the peptide chain freeing the

amino terminal portion. As this occurs throughout the peptide chains of the protein, the protein breaks

apart. The mechanism by which it breaks peptide bonds involves deprotonation of Cys-25 by His-159.

Asparagine-175 helps to orient the imidazole ring of His-159 to allow this deprotonation to take place.

Although far apart within the chain, these three amino acids are in close proximity due to the folding

structure. It is though these three amino acids working together in the active site that provides this enzyme

with its unique functions. Cys-25 then performs a nucleophilic attack on the carbonyl carbon of a peptide

backbone. (Menard et al., 1990; Tsuge et al., 1999) In the active site of papain, Cys -25 and His -159 are

thought to be catalytically active as a thiolate imidazolium ion pair. Papain can be efficiently inhibited by

peptidyl or non-peptidyl N-nitrosoanilines.(Guo et al., 1996; 1998) The inactivation is due to the

formation of a stable S-NO bond in the active site (Snitroso- Cys25) of papain.(Xian et al., 2000)

[weegee]

I have a papaya tree in my garden, but yes agree on the excessive price of mango's

Weary of the price of mango's I went to Mae Jo University Agriculture Day back in January. I came away with a dozen mango trees of different varieties. I'm waiting till the rainy season to plant in a corner of property. (as advised) Our papaya trees put forth copius amounts of fruit so we give away most. A use for a young papaya surprised me. I thought our neighbor wanted green papayas for som tom as she'd motor over occasionally to get one. They raise chickens and when they get to the point the chicken isn't laying they kill and eat it. Well older chickens have tough meat but if you boil a green papaya with the chickens meat it softens it up. At least that's her story and I believe her. As for the price of coconuts, I'm planting 10 of them in the morning

Ripe papaya is also good mashed up and used to tenderize tough meat (i.e. as here in Thailand)...it needs a fair few hours to tenderize though...

Pineapple does the same ....

[rexaco123]

I'm surprised you say the price is high. Last year in Sukhothai Province farmers were getting around 9 or 10 baht/kg wholesale, which was good money. So many papaya fields sprang up over the course of this last year that now the wholesale price is down to 1 or 2 baht/kg, which is not sustainable. Most farmers have abandoned these fields, quit irrigating or plowed them under for a different crop.

[SailingHome]

I'm surprised you say the price is high. Last year in Sukhothai Province farmers were getting around 9 or 10 baht/kg wholesale, which was good money. So many papaya fields sprang up over the course of this last year that now the wholesale price is down to 1 or 2 baht/kg, which is not sustainable. Most farmers have abandoned these fields, quit irrigating or plowed them under for a different crop.

I don't have the luxury of shopping in a farmer's field or buying wholesale. Distribution channels rule the price.